Oil burner



G. W. WILSON OIL BURNER Filed Nov. 16, 1935 Patented Oct. 27, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 20 Claims.

The object of my invention is tc provide an oil burner which is simple, durable and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

A further object is to provide an eicient oil burner of few parts, adapted for mounting in an ordinary heating stove or the like, the burner being formed of castings or the like assembled cn the grate of the heating stove and utilizing l liquid fuel such as distillate or petroleum, or the like, for producing heat without the usual attendant formation of soot and carbon.

Another object is to provide a burner with a down draft supplied by a conduit passing out through the side of the stove above the burner, so that heat arising from the burner effectively preheats the air supplied to the burner, and thus aids in the complete combustion of the fuel.

Another object is to provide a burner in which. the air is preheated and then so controlled in its ow that it picks up all the oil vapor arising from the fuel in the burner and distributes it to a burner, the wall of which is of substantial thickness tov prevent any back ring of the burner when the supply of fuel is cut off.

Still a further object is to provide a means for effectively regulating the size of the flame issuing from the burner by a simultaneous control of the gas being emitted from and the air and oil being admitted to the burner.

Still another object is to provide a gas distributor within the burner for distributing the gas so that it flows evenly from the gas emitting openings and is thoroughly mixed with the air for complete combustion by the distributor.

With these and other objects in View, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of my burner showing it mounted in a heating stove, the stove being shown in section.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the burner; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 illustrating details of construction.

On the accompanying drawing I have used the reference character A to indicate generally a flame bowl. A burner B is mounted therein, which is surmounted by an annular oil cup C, and a cover D.

The flame bowl A is preferably made of cast iron or the like, and is bowl shaped as illustrated. It is provided with a depending well I2, closed by a bottom plate I4.

The burner B comprises a cylindrical wall I6, a top wall I8 and a neck 20. The wall I6 is provided with a plurality of small gas emitting openings 22, and the Wall is of substantial thickness, so as to prevent the iiame from extending back through the perforations 22 to explode the gas within the burner B and thereby cause back-firing, which would be experienced with a burner- 5 wall of sheet metal or the like, especially when the supply of fuel is cut off. Other openings 24 are provided in the top wall I8 for emitting gas for purposes which will hereinafter appear.

The oil cup C has a bottom wall 28, a peripheral wall 28 and an inner annular wall 30 surrounding the neck 2l) of the burner B. The wall 30 is provided with a flange 32 to limit downward movement of the oil cup relative to the burner.

The cover D has a peripheral wall 34, a top wall 36 and a neck 38. The lower edge of the wall 34 is grooved to receive the upper edge of the wall 28, a sealing cement 4l] being interposed between the two to prevent any air leakage at this point.

An air conduit 42 is provided which surrounds the neck 38 and communicates with a passageway 43 in the neck. A pair of deector plates 44 and 46 are provided, which are held in assembled relation to the neck 38 by a bolt 48. The plates 44 and 46 are discs of sheet metal with slits cut into their edges to points adjacent the center, as shown in Figure 3, and the various leaves of the plate thus formed are twisted to provide openings for air passage, and due to their propeller-like shape cause any air passing downwardly through the passageway 43 to whirl so that centrifugal action causes the air to follow the path of the arrows a in Figure 2. The arrows, it will be noted, pass outwardly toward the inner wall of the cup C and cover D, and then over the surface of the oil 49 in the cup C before passing into the passageway on its way to the burner. This effectively causes a swirling of the air and controls its path so that all of it must pass over the surface of the oil 50 in order to collect vapor therefrom in the most effective manner.

The oil 50 is supplied by a pipe 52 leading to a supply valve 54. A piece of tubing 56 connects an oil reservoir 58 with the valve 54. Oil is supplied to the reservoir 58 by a fountain type oil container 68, having the usual check valve 62 in the neck thereof, for closing the neck except when the container 6! is mounted in its proper position on the reservoir 58. The oil, of course, is maintained at the level of the lower end of the neck of the container G0, which level is coincident with that shown in Figure 2, as it is desirable to have a small quantity of oil in the cup C without, however, permitting it to overflow into the passageway 28.

Within the burner B I provide a gas distributor 64, comprising a sheet metal cylinder provided with perforations 68. I lhave found that the Ywith the lever 8U.

openings 66 should be fewer in number and larger in diameter than the openings 22, the total area of the openings 66 exceeding that of the openings 22 in order to produce the best results from a gas distributing and flame performance standpoint.

I provide a means for adjusting the flow of gas from the burner B, comprising a cylinder 68 vertically slidable in the burner B to cover the desired number of rows of openings 22, so that the gas is then emitted only through those that are uncovered. This sleeve need not be a perfect t, as considerable lhooseness still effects an effective isolation of the covered openings from the gas, because of the dead air space between the cylinder 68 and the wall I6. The cylinder 68 is provided with a bottom 10, which may be a spider if desired. An ear 12 is formed on the bottom 'l0 and carries a pivot pin 14. An adjusting rod 16 is connected with the pin I4 an-d extends downwardly through the bottom I4 of the flame bowl A.

For adjusting the flow of air through the conduit 42 I provide a butterfly Valve Tl controlled by an arm 18.

A bracket 82 extends from the flame bowl A and a controller lever 80 is pivoted thereto at 84. The inner end of the controller lever is connected with the rod 16 for vertically adjusting it, while a link 88 is provided for connecting the lever 'I8 The valve 54 is also controlled by the lever 80, a link 86 being provided for connecting the two together. A notched segment may be provided for retaining the lever 80 in various adjusted positions.

The burner is illustrated as being mounted in the combustion chamber 92 of a heating stove, the ash pit being illustrated at 90 and the grate at 94. All the air to the burner comes through the down draft pipe or conduit 42, and therefore the grate 94 may be closed against air entrance by a sheet metal plate or the like 9B, a fire clay seal then being provided around the flame bowl at 98 if desired.

The openings 24 in the burner B are for emitting gas upwardly, which burns beneath the oil cup C, in order to heat it and thereby vaporize the oil therein. To more effectively heat the o-il cup, projections may be provided on the bottom 26 thereof to act as heat absorbing fins.

I have found by experiment that a burner construction as disclosed effectively burns all the cheaper grades of fuel oil with such negligible formation of carbon that the burner need not be cleaned more than once a year. A true blue llame is emitted from the burner without any smoke whatever, thus indicating that all the fuel is being burned. This is caused by the construction of the burner, and by the particular means I have of supplying preheated air to the burner, and I so control the flow of the air that it effectively picks up all of the vapor arising from the oil. The vapor is then equally distributed to the openings 22, so that all of them emit a gas which burns approximately the height indicated by the arrows "11 in Figure 1, the flame bowl I0 properly deilecting the flame to prevent an excess thereof striking the stove wall 92 an-d heating it to an undesirable degree. The burner is shown adjusted to an intermediate position, whereas for a low re the tube 68 may be raised as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2, while for a high flame, it may be lowered, so that all of the openings 22 are uncovered. As the cylinder 68 is thus adjusted, both the oil supply and air supply are simultaneously adjusted, which is necessary in order to provide maximum efficiency at all adjustments, as it is quite necessary, to obtain maximum efficiency, that the oil, air and area of the gas emitting openings be proportioned.

Changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the various parts of my oil burner without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an oil burner structure, a flame bowl, a hollow burner therein having a wall of substantial thickness and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly toward the inner surface of said bowl, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than sai-d gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner and having a plurality of heat receiving projections, some of said gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil to and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating centrally with said oil cup, means within said conduit for causing air flowing therethrough to swirl and thereby flow by centrifugal action to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway, means operable to cover said gas emitting openings to a variable degree, means to control the flow of said oil to said oil cup, means to control the flow of air to said conduit, and a controller for adjusting oil of said last three mentioned means simultaneously to effect adjustment of the flame from said burner.

2. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner having a wall of substantial thickness and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner, some of the gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating with said oil cup, means within said conduit for causing air flowing therethrough to swirl and thereby flow by centrifugal action to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway, means operable to cover said gas emiting openings to variable degrees, means to control the flow of said oil to said oil cup, means to control the flow ofl air through said conduit, and a controller for adjusting all of the last three mentioned means simultaneously to effect adjustment of the flame from said burner.

3. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner having a wall of substantial thickness and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner, some of the gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cupi, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating with said oil cup and means within said conduit for causing air owing therethrough to swirl and thereby flow by centrifugal action to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway.

4. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly, a gas distributor within said burner, an oil pan mounted above said burner, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating with said oil cup, means within said conduit for causing air owing therethrough to swirl and thereby flow by centrifugal action to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway, means operable to cover said gas emitting openings to variable degrees, means to control the flow of said oil to said oil cup, means to control the ow of air through said conduit, and a controller for adjusting all of the last three mentioned means simultaneously to effect adjustment of the ame from said burner.

5. In an oil burner structure, a ilame bowl, a hollow burner therein and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly toward the inner surface of said bowl, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner and having a plurality of heat receiving projections, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil to and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating centrally with said oil cup, means within said conduit for causing air ilowing therethrough to swirl and thereby flow by centrifugal action to the o-uter wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway, means operable to cover said gas emitting openings to a variable degree, means to control the flow of said oil to said oil cup, means to control the flow of air to said conduit, and a controller for adjusting all of said last three mentioned means simultaneously to effect adjustment of the flame from said burner.

6. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner, some of the gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating with said oil cup and means within said conduit for causing -air flowing therethrough to swirl and thereby flow by centrifugal action to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway.

7. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner having a wall of substantial thickness and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner, said oil pan having an .annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating with said oil cup, means operable to cover said gas emitting openings to variable degrees, means to control the flow of said oil to said oil cup, means to control the flow of air through said conduit, and a controller for adjusting all of the last three mentioned means simultaneously to effect adjustment of the flame from said burner.

8. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner having a wall of substantial thickness and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of `distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined vlevel therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, and an air conduit communicating with said oil cup'.

9. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner, some of the gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, and an air conduit communicating with said oil cup.

10. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner, some of the gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor and an air conduit oommunicating with said oil cup, means for causing air flowing through said conduit to follow a path outwardly to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway.

11. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly, a gas distributor within said burner, an oil pan mounted above said burner, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating with said oil cup and means within said conduit for causing air flowing therethrough to swirl and thereby flow by centrifugal action to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway.

12. In an oil burner structure, a ame bowl, a hollow burner therein and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly toward the inner surface of said bowl, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said burner and having a plurality of heat receiving projections, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil to and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating centrally with said oil cup and means within said conduit for causing air flowing therethrough to swirl and thereby flow by centrifugal action to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into' said passageway.

13. In an oil burner structure, a flame bowl, a hollow burner therein having a wall of substantial thickness and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly toward the inner surface of said bowl, a gas'distributor within said burner, an oil pan mounted above said burner and having a plurality of heat receiving projections, some of said gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil to and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communieating centrally with said oil cup, means within said conduit for causing air flowing therethrough to swirl and thereby fiow b-y centrifugal action to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway, means operable to cover said gas emitting openings to a variable degree, means to control the flow of said oil to said oil cup, means to control the flow of air toI said conduit, and a controller for adjusting all of said last three mentioned means simultaneously to effect adjustment of the flame from said burner.

14. In an oil burner structure, a iiame bowl, a hollow burner therein having a wall of substantial thickness and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly toward the inner surface of said bowl, a gas distributor within said burner, an o-il pan mounted above said burner and having a plurality of heat receiving projections, some of said gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil to and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating centrally with said oil cup and means within said conduit for causing air flowing therethrough to swirl and thereby flow by centrifugal action to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence over the oil therein and into said passageway.

15. In an oil burner structure, a flame bowl, a hollow burner therein having a wall of substantial thickness and a plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly toward the inner surface of said bowl, a gas distributor within said burner, an oil pan mounted above said burner and having a plurality of heat receiving projections, some of said gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil to and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating centrally with said oil cup, means operable to cover said' gas emitting openings to a Variable degree, means to control the flow of said oil to said oil cup, means to control the flow of air to said conduit, and a. controller for adjusting all of said last three mentioned means simultaneously to effect adjustment of the flame from said burner.

16. In an oil burner structure, a flame bowl, a hollow burner therein having a Wall of substantial thickness and a.. plurality of gas emitting openings in said wall directed outwardly toward the inner surface of said bowl, a gas distributor within said burner, an oil pan mounted above said burner and having a plurality of heat receiving projections, some of said gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an` annular cup, means for supplying oil to and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating centrally with said oil cup and means for causing air flowing through said conduit to follow a path outwardly to the outer wall of said oil cup and thence o-ver the oil therein and into said passageway.

17. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner, a plurality of gas emitting openings in the wall thereof, a gas distributor within said burner, an oil pan mounted above said burner, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, and an air conduit communicating with said oil cup and supplying the only air used by said burner.

18. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner, a plurality of gas emitting openings in the wall thereof, a gas distributor within said burner, an`

oil pan mounted above said burner, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit commu-n nicating with said oil cup, means operable to cover said gas emitting openings to variable degrees, means to control the flow of said oil to said oil cup, means to control the flow of air through said conduit, and a controller for adjusting all of the last three mentioned means simultaneously to effect adjustment of the flame from said burner.

19. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner, a plurality of gas emitting openings in the wall thereof, a gas distributor within said burner having a plurality of distributing openings of larger diameter than said gas emitting openings, an oil pan mounted above said distributor, said oil pan having an annular cup, means for supplying oil4 thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage communicating said oil pan with said distributor, and an air conduit communicating with said oil cup.

20. In an oil burner structure, a hollow burner, a plurality of gas emitting openings in the wall thereof, a gas distributor Within said burner, an oil pan mounted above said burner, some of the gas emitting openings being directed toward said oil pan, said oil pan having an annular cup,meansfor supplying oil thereto and maintaining it below a predetermined level therein, a passage cornmunicating said oil pan with said distributor, an air conduit communicating with said oil cup, means operable to cover said gas emitting openings to variable degrees, means to control the flow of said oil to said oil cup, means to control the flow of air through said conduit, and a controller for adjusting all of the last three mentioned means simultaneously to effect adjustment of the flame from said burner.

GEORGE W. WILSON. 

